India-A men's hockey team started its Europe tour with a brilliant 6-1 win over Ireland at Hockey Club Oranje-Rood. India performed brilliantly in all four quarters and did not make any mistake. Uttam Singh was the first player to score for the team and subsequent to this Amandeep Lakra added more strength to the team's lead. Subsequent to this, two back-to-back goals were scored by Aditya Lalage, securing the victory for the team. Forwards Bobby Singh Dhami and Selvam Karthi also contributed a lot towards the team's victory by scoring one goal each.

Ireland managed to score only one goal against India's compact defence. India's second match would be against Ireland on July 9, when it would look for another encouraging performance. By winning that match as well, India would like to carry forward the momentum of the Europe tour. Next, in the next two weeks, the Indian side would face France, England, Belgium and Netherlands, which is the host country.

The purpose of these matches is to test the strength and preparations of the players. At present, the national setup is working towards preparing a strong talent pool for the Indian senior team. Through this tour, Hockey India's aim is to increase the scope of talent for the Indian men's national team and give the experience of international matches to the next generation of Indian hockey.

Captain Sanjay considers the Europe tour a great opportunity to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the team. According to the captain, he has a good mix of experienced and young players and this tour will provide tough competition to the team to test its current state.

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The skipper believes that such international experience will help strengthen his core team in the future and build a good bench strength in the long run.